It partially reopened at the end of July, but officials expect the zoo will lose $10 million in revenue before it fully opens in December.

"There's a portion of that anticipated loss that will be or could be covered by the business interruption aspect of our insurance policy," said the president of the zoo, Clement Lanthier.

He told a city committee that the zoo is continuing to lay out long-term plans for the facility, which include bringing in new animals.

"We need to invest in some novelty for next summer, new species and never on this horizon," said Lanthier.

"We need to invest in a lot of things but the cash flow is critical. If there's no cash, there's no future."

About 2,000 people a day have visited the zoo since it reopened in July.

Lanthier said the zoo is looking at partnering with other agencies such as Tourism Calgary to ensure once it is fully open, people will know that it's back in business.

Corrections

An earlier version of this story quoted zoo president Clement Lanthier as saying that the zoo should lose focus on animal welfare. Zoo officials say that was not Lanthier's intended meaning — animal welfare remains of utmost importance to the organization.
The story also reported that 2,000 people had visited the zoo since it reopened. In fact, 2,000 people a day have visited, say zoo officials.